Statistically, African American males drop out of high school at nearly double the rate of their white counterparts. That’s unacceptable to Marine colonel-turned-nonprofit head John Boggs of Washington, D.C.

To buck the trend, he’s helping run a program that encourages young black males to stay in school and redirect the course of their lives.

The new effort, called the Alpha Leadership Program (ALP), is targeted at ninth grade students and their parents. It’s based on the belief that to truly reach these boys, the whole community needs to rally behind them, parents and guardians need to become mentors, and peers must exert positive pressure.

The program will run at five Washington D.C. schools over the next two years, with expansion to all local D.C. high schools and charter schools planned by 2009.

Boggs, 55, was recruited less than a year ago to be chief operating officer of the District of Columbia Access Program (DC-CAP), which provides counseling and financial assistance to urban students to help them be admitted to and graduate from college.

Boggs believes his transition from the armed forces is worth emulating. “There’s no better place for a military person to relaunch a career than the nonprofit world,” he said, noting that the same skills apply: “You can’t lose focus, you can’t waste money, and you can’t lose site of the mission.”

But joining the leadership team of a nonprofit wasn’t part of his life plan. He intended to move back to his home state of New York two years ago after spending a couple of years at the National Defense University, first teaching military strategy and logistics, and then serving as dean of faculty and academic programs. His boss convinced him to stick around for a few more years as chief of staff.

It was there that he received what turned out to be a propitious email. A friend forwarded him a job listing from a headhunter with a note saying, “I think these guys are looking for you.” The job description for the position at DC-CAP seemed a perfect fit.

“What got my complete attention was DC-CAP’s mission: to help Washington, D.C. schoolchildren get into college and finish college within five years, and to improve that number every year,” Boggs said.

He was enthusiastic about the ALP program’s approach. ALP is the brainchild of Argelia Rodriguez and L.D. Ross.

He knew something about D.C. public schools. He had volunteered in them during his spare time as a tutor, mentor and coaching lacrosse. While he found these experiences rewarding, they made him aware of the district’s shortcomings – and its possibilities. “You can look at the Washington, D.C. system and see what should be the jewel of the nation,” he said.

His new job has proved to be deeply satisfying. “People have a wrong idea of what a military person brings to the table,” Boggs said. “They think we’re rigid, lockstep, that we’re not flexible and see things one way and that’s it. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

The military, he argues, requires you to be flexible, to understand your resources and to recognize quickly that failure is not an option. “You’ve got to think quickly on your feet and plan, but be ready to throw that plan out the window once it hits reality,” he deadpanned.

The ability to be flexible comes in handy when he has to get down on hands and knees behind his desk to troubleshoot computer problems. That didn’t happen in his last job. “At the National Defense University, I spent $24 million on IT; these days I get upset over spending $15,000 on IT,” Dobbs said with a laugh,

Boggs is thriving on the challenge of growing an organization he believes in. Coming up on its 10-year anniversary, DC-CAP has dramatically improved its student matriculation rate each year. And if Boggs has anything to do with it, the best is yet to come.